Build Your Home Ideas

Video Compilation  I have compiled a list of video's I shot during the construction of Rochester Passive House. All of the Video's can be found by searching "Rochester Passive House" in Youtube Enjoy! One of the 1st Video's I took was during the window delivery. They are heavy! We unloaded the container with a skid stear and had to push them into an on site storage container. This group of 3 video's shows what we needed to do to raise the outer wall of our double wall assembly when the inner wall was already built This video shows the setup and plumbing of our drain water heat exchanger. This video shows the installation techniques of damp spray cellulose. This wall is an interior wall for sound deadening, but you can see the installation from both sides of the wall. This video shows the technique we used to complete the insulation of our attic when we cannot see the levels of insulation. We need to maintain at least 24" of blown cellulose in the attic.  ...

Open House! - UPDATE We will be collecting Hats and Gloves and any warm clothing for Homeless Veterans. Many of our contractors (and myself) that worked on our house are veterans. Since it is Veteran's Day Weekend it would be a great opportunity to thank those who won't be as warm this winter! Please bring something to donate for a wonderful cause.  Rochester’s 1 st  (to be) Certified Passive House 340 Quaker Meeting House Rd. in Honeoye Falls Friday November 11 1pm-6pm Saturday November 12 10am-6pm I will perform a Blower door test at 5pm on Saturday, bring your smoke sticks and IR Cameras! If you are thinking of building or renovating you won’t want to miss this! Come see 1st hand: Passive House Design Super Tight  Construction Heat Recovery Ventilation Super Insulation Passive House Windows We will be on hand to answer questions and give tours If you cannot make this Open House contact me at: MattB@airtightservicesinc.com to set up a time to come check it out!

We've Moved In! So, where do I begin. It has been so long since I posted anything... What have I learned from living in a (soon to be certified) Passive House? It is QUIET! We don't live in a noisy area, but when you close the door you can actually FEEL the quiet.  When something is sound proof, it keeps the outside sounds OUT, but also keeps the inside sounds IN. My 6 year old takes piano lesson. the piano is LOUD! The ventilation system works great! Smells don't linger at all. My biggest "complaint" with it is when the boost button it hit, you have NO indication it is running any faster. There is no light or sound to suggest it is on high - you just have to believe it.  We have had as many as 15 people in the house on a hot sunny day and didn't over heat the house. The box elder beetles are BAD this year. We don't have any in the the house - no air leaks means bug proof as well. We do get some fruit flies but I think they come in with our fruit Horse fly...